The European Commission has declared 2023 the “European Year of Skills”
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Young people in the European Union (EU) are increasingly preferring to get a university degree over more technical vocational training. Many professions cannot find employees in the labor market for this reason. The question is becoming more and more relevant, as evidenced by the fact that this year is the “European Year of Skills” in the European Union.
According to the European Center for the Development of Vocational Education and Training, skills shortages are a particular concern, especially when unemployment is high. This situation was examined by the journalists of the network of broadcasting organizations “Euranet plus”, which gathered opinions in several European countries.
There is a lack of IT specialists
According to the European Center for the Development of Vocational Education, a particular lack of employees is felt in the information technology (IT) sector, as the skills of these professionals are needed in almost every sector of the economy. The center states that there is a lack of information and communication technology specialists in all member states, except Finland. In addition, anything related to cyber security or people who can handle future technologies are increasingly in demand. And industries related to artificial intelligence will continue to grow in the coming decades.
«In the past, many professions have been devalued to a certain extent, because many jobs in vocational education were considered dirty, difficult and so on. However, with the development of new technologies, this is no longer always the case,” Aleksandrs Sladojevičs, head of the International Cooperation Center of the Slovenian Institute of Vocational Education, explained the decline in the popularity of vocational education.
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Invest in people
As a result, many professions cannot find a suitable professional profile in the labor market. This issue is becoming more and more relevant in the European Union, as evidenced by the fact that this year is the “European Year of Skills”.
“Three quarters of companies across Europe complain about the lack of qualified employees,” said the press secretary of the European Commission in Berlin, Birgitta Schmeitzner.
“As we all know, our working world is changing. On the one hand, we have the green change and then the digital change, and that also means that the jobs associated with them are different from what they were five, seven or ten years ago, and for politics, of course, that means that we have you have to invest in people, in what they know, you have to encourage them to want to learn something, that they also want to continue their education. And for this purpose, the “European Year of Skills” is a kind of encouragement, because it is clear that it cannot be solved only in Brussels.”
Cooperation between schools and companies should be improved
As the young entrepreneur and designer Rūta Vielaviče admitted to journalists in Lithuania, she opted for professional training because she saw a greater practical benefit in supplementing professional skills than in obtaining a bachelor’s degree. Studying at a university would also make you significantly adjust your work and daily rhythm.
Former Portuguese Minister of Education and Science, Nuno Crato, explains that better cooperation between schools and companies on needs and skills would allow professional studies to offer content more relevant to the needs of business sectors:
“We have a problem, which is the tendency of schools to offer professional programs that do not meet the needs of the region. To solve this problem, in my opinion, cooperation between schools and companies is necessary. Companies should voluntarily provide resources, such as technicians and facilities, to facilitate vocational training.”
Stronger positions in job interviews
Finally, given that there is a shortage of labor in many sectors that train young people in vocational education institutions, job seekers are in a stronger position in job interviews.
“Today, there is a deficit in our sector, especially in electrical engineering. So it is no longer us who are looking for work, but the companies that come here are looking for us,” the young electrical engineer Mikey de Vader emphasized to Belgian journalists.
He also explained that the job interview is, of course, still an integral part of getting a job. You still have to prove your worth to an employer. However, there are much fewer restrictions, as the employee has a stronger position in salary negotiations and it is possible to set other conditions, as it is clear that the employer needs you. ◆
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CONTEXT
In order to ensure the matching of skills with the demand of the labor market, to harmonize the set of people’s wishes and skills with opportunities in the labor market, as well as to promote competitiveness, participation and talent development, the European Commission has declared 2023 as the “European Year of Skills”. During this time, various thematic events and activities take place in Latvia.
Funding for skills development or new acquisition is available from various EU programs and funding instruments, such as the European Social Fund, the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism, such as “Erasmus+” and “Horizon Europe”.
Text – RIHARDS PLŪME (foreign news correspondent of Latvian Radio), “EURANET PLUS”
In the illustrative picture – a room in Ergļi Vocational High School. Photo – F64, Dmitrijs Sulžičs
2023-08-23 15:17:00
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